£27.4m. a year to run Education’s favoured model

This report, published today, provides additional information to go with the committee’s policy letter which outlines plans for the development of a single school comprising two colleges, which it is anticipated will cost a total of £157m.

Revenue costs were reportedly going to be some £2m. lower than at present, and the business case shows how these costs depend on the option chosen.

Doing nothing, that is keeping the secondary schools as they are on four sites without selection, would cost £29.4m. by 2023/24.

But the preferred option, which assumes the 11-18 school is fully operational as one school in two colleges by 2023/24 and that the costs of further/higher education are based on the proposed Guernsey Institute operating model, is anticipated to cost £27.4m.

A ‘middle’ option in which the single school would be created, but which would see fewer improvements to the delivery of 11-18 education, is estimated to cost £26.4m.

It is anticipated that about £47m. would be spent on a building to house The Guernsey Institute, which will bring together the College of Further Education, the Institute of Health and Social Care Studies and the GTA University Centre.

ESC’s preferred option is for the institute to be based at Les Ozouets, currently one of the sites used by the CFE.

The committee is to ask the States next month for a total of £157m. to progress the work on its plans, of which £69m. is for the development of the two new colleges on the existing school sites at Baubigny and Les Beaucamps.

Between £13.4m. and £22.4m. is the anticipated cost of rebuilding La Mare de Carteret Primary School, while £5.8m. will be needed to ‘implement digital solutions across the education estate’.

Some £8.6m. of revenue funding will also be needed for the transition and transformation team to implement these changes.

It is suggested that some of the money spent could be recovered through the sale of some redundant sites, said the report, and these could include Delancey, Les Coutanchez, Les Varendes and part of the La Mare de Carteret site.

It is estimated that the disposal of these sites could raise between £6.3m. and £10.3m.

A diagram of the proposed timeline for the work to be done suggests that the two colleges at Les Beaucamps and St Sampson’s will open in 2022, with the work to rebuild La Mare and to construct the new Guernsey Institute building being completed in 2023.

Elsewhere in the report is a list of the risks that are likely to affect the plans, among them the issue of the bus company saying that it would be unable to support school finishing later than it does at present. The idea of a longer school day, to incorporate additional activities, is one of the suggestions in ESC’s main policy letter.

In its suggestion for action to mitigate this issue, ESC said it would assess the procurement approach and options ‘to reach a sustainable and value for money solution’. Revenue cost implications would also need to be determined as part of this process.

Each of the six risks listed is perceived as having a high impact, but only the bus issue is labelled as having a high probability.

The risk of traffic congestion is considered to be a medium probability and ESC said it will look to mitigate this with such things as junction improvements, improved walking and cycling routes, and improved bus service and incentives for active travel options.

ESC also undertakes to ensure that there are clear channels of regular consultation and communication throughout the duration of the programme to ensure that the concerns of students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders are taken into consideration.